Political Candidate Believes in Stoning Gays to Death + 4 Other Things to Know About Today

+ Political Candidate Believes in Stoning Gays to Death

Scott Esk, a Tea Party candidate for Oklahoma’s House of Representatives, said that being gay is “worthy of death” and that he believes in stoning gay people. “I think we would be totally in the right to do it,” he said. After facing serious criticism for saying this, he replied, “I never said I would author legislation to put homosexuals to death, but I didn’t have a problem with it.” Gee, somehow that isn’t the least bit assuring.

+ Laverne Cox Gives Feminist Talk

It’s time for more great words of advice from Laverne Cox! “I think about #YesAllWomen and the culture of misogyny that I believe we exist in that a lot of people don’t want to acknowledge,” she said. “I’ve said loving transgender people is revolutionary, but I think loving women — really loving women, is revolutionary too, in a social context that is deeply misogynistic, deeply does not celebrate women.” Preach!

+ “Maleficent” Scene Is a Metaphor for Sexual Assault

Angelina Jolie recently spoke up against sexual assault at the End Sexual Violence in Conflict conference, and she also revealed that a scene in “Maleficent” is supposed to symbolize sexual assault. “We were very conscious, the writer and I, that [the scene in question] was a metaphor for rape,”she said. “The core of [“Maleficent”] is abuse, and how the abused have a choice of abusing others or overcoming and remaining loving, open people.”

+ Be Beautiful Project

Tired of how narrowly beauty is defined by our society, Denise Jolly started her Be Beautiful Project. She spent 30 days snapping pics of herself with the words “Be Beautiful” written on her body and shared those pics with the world. “The beliefs I carried about my body and what it looked like were born from social and cultural indoctrination,” she said. “Therefore, the work in dismantling my internalized shame about my body had to be done both in intimacy and publicly.”

+ Janelle Monáe Encourages You To be a Hero!

Have you seen Janelle Monáe’s music vid for “Heroes”? If not, check it now! Janelle explained, “The Young Astronauts production company made this video that’s just so empowering that speaks out against it [bullying]. I hope young people are really inspired by it and hear that message and are able to carry it with them as they go to school, and throughout their lives.”

Photo: (Getty, Denise Jolly)

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